Passengers who witnessed an incident in which Kate Moss was escorted off a flight from Turkey to London at the weekend have come to the defence of the model, claiming that the crew overreacted.

Moss, 41, was met by police at Luton airport on Sunday after easyJet staff claimed she was disruptive on the flight from Bodrum, where she had been attending celebrations for her friend Sadie Frost’s forthcoming 50th birthday. Moss was not arrested and no charges were pressed.

However, one passenger told the Guardian that she did not see any trouble on the flight, apart from “grumpy” cabin crew. Moss’s party were not sitting together but scattered around the plane, the passenger said, adding that Moss’s behaviour had not seemed extreme.

“I think easyJet must have seen a lot worse. You would have thought to have the police called for a passenger’s disruptive behaviour, you would see someone running up and down, or shouting, or endangering the plane, but there was none of that at all.” The passenger added that she was surprised to see policemen waiting on the steps of the plane after it landed, saying: “It was very unnecessary to call the police, it does cost money which could be spent catching criminals.”

Another passenger said staff refused to serve Moss alcohol but the model poured herself vodka from her own bottle. Moss allegedly later became unruly, prompting the pilot to radio for police to meet the flight.

As she was escorted from the plane, Moss was reportedly heard lambasting the pilot. “She called the pilot a basic bitch as police led her off the plane,” a passenger told MailOnline. “But she was not aggressive to anyone and was funny really. The crew were acting out of proportion.”

Moss’s party were sitting in different parts of the plane, the passenger said. “We only realised Kate Moss was on the flight when we were about 30 minutes out of London,” she added. “There was some turbulence and the seatbelt signs went on, and then she got up to go to the bathroom.”

Why I'm proud to be a 'basic bitch' | Daisy Buchanan

Read more

The passenger said Moss had a short conversation with a member of the cabin crew, and was persuaded to return to her seat while the signs were on.

Moss arrived at baggage reclaim looking nonchalant, the passenger said. “She turned up and said ‘they tried to arrest me’ to her friends, and then shrugged. She didn’t look bothered at all.”

Easyjet would only confirm that police met flight EZY2232 from Bodrum to London Luton “due to the behaviour of a passenger on board”.

Bedfordshire police said no arrests were made. “We were called to assist staff in escorting a passenger from a flight arriving into Luton airport. The passenger had been reported as being disruptive on the flight. Officers attended and escorted the passenger from the plane,” a spokesman said.

Moss, who made an estimated £4.6m last year, was travelling on the budget airline with her holiday companions Frost, Frances Ruffelle, designer Jemima French and model Rose Ferguson. The Primrose Hill set had spent the week by the Aegean Sea at a luxury Turkish spa, LifeCo, where a seven-day detox programme costs £1,640.

Moss has previously lost modelling contracts after allegations that she was a habitual cocaine user. She issued a public apology in 2005, and has since rebuilt her modelling career with designers such as Burberry. She married the musician Jamie Hince in 2011.